With Hook in hand
by lordisangel
Summary: After being told the stories of Neverland from their old babysitter, the Westchester sisters wish to go there. Kathleen comes to Neverland in one of her dreams, and when she wakes up, she is wearing the captain's shirt. Hook/OC
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"It's mine!" Rosie shouted. "Give it back!" She jumped higher and higher, but was still far from reaching the doll her older sister was holding out of her reach.

"Then just jump a little higher, Rosie," Kathleen replied with a smug grin. She found it surprisingly amusing taking Rosie's doll, sometimes hiding it, and sometimes just holding it out of Rosie's reach. Rosie's voice would get all squeaky and she would aggressively try to snatch the doll back. First when the high-pitched screams of crying would burst through Kathleen would give Rosie her doll back.

"You're mean Katie! Give it back," Rosie shouted and threw herself against Kathleen. They both fell on top of Rosie's bed and she managed to get the doll back from her older sister.

Rosie rose up from the bed and held her doll close, brushing the doll's hair lovingly. Kathleen could not stop laughing.

"You're such a cry-baby, Rosie," she said. Rosie frowned, but in stead she turned away and seated herself by the window. Kathleen followed shortly after and seated herself facing her sister.

"Peter would never take such a mean pirate-sister with him to Neverland," Rosie stated.

"Perhaps I don't want to," Kathleen said casually, knowing this would make Rosie have a tantrum.

"What?" Rosie exploded. "Why would you not want to? Neverland is amazing! There are the Lost Boys, Indians, mermaids -"

"Pirates," Kathleen said softly. Rosie overheard her and kept on telling about the amazing Neverland she had learnt to know, from their former babysitter Wendy Darling.

Kathleen let her mind wander. She could see the ocean, hear it and smell it. She was standing on a beach. Her bare feet touching the sand under them. She took a deep breath and breathed in the salty air. She could barely hear Rosie's voice call her name somewhere in the distance. The sun was slowly devoured by the horizon, leaving the sky in a massacre of colours. Suddenly a ship appeared in the distance. The proud sails and the galleon figure revealed the ship's identity to her. The _Jol-_

"Katie!" Rosie exclaimed and hit her older sister on the shoulder. This woke Kathleen up from her day-dream. "Look!"

Rosie was eagerly pointing at something outside the window. Kathleen sighed and lazily looked at whatever Rosie had found this time. Her eyes widened. Truly this time there had been something outside their window, and it had not been the usual plane in the distance as it usually had been. A burst of light had disappeared right as Kathleen had looked.

"What was that?" she asked Rosie who was quickly trying to open the window.

A cool breeze flew through the window as Rosie opened it, and Kathleen felt the wind through her thin home-made pyjamas. She hated gowns and dresses, but she could only wear pants at home. She was already sixteen years old, and well on her way to become a young woman in the eyes of society. Rosie on the contrary was a real little lady, even though she was only nine. She would rather wear her night gown than letting Kathleen sow some pyjamas for her. Kathleen could not and would not understand what went on in that girl's head.

Rosie searched the skies with her gaze for anything unusual, but the burst of light did not reveal itself again. Rosie sighed and closed the window.

Kathleen almost felt bad for her younger sister. She wanted to go to Neverland so bad. She would often mumble Peter Pan's name in her sleep, and she would always look sad when she woke up, discovering that her adventures in Neverland had only been a dream.

Rosie stood up and went to her bed. She pulled her blanket over her head and disappeared out of sight. Kathleen looked out of the window, the night sky was lit up by the moon and the stars. Suddenly she opened the window.

"Why won't you come?" Kathleen whispered to the night sky. "It would make her so happy"

Kathleen went to her own bed and lied down. She could hear soft sobs from under Rosie's blanket.

"Why won't you tell a story?" Kathleen asked. The sobbing stopped and Rosie slowly lifted her blanket away from her face. There were a couple of tears on her cheeks, and her eyes were slightly red.

"A story?" Rosie asked with a squeaky voice. Kathleen nodded with a smile.

"Tell a story about the Captain," Kathleen begged. There was now a small smile on Rosie's face.

"You are in love with Hook, right?" Rosie teased.

"No I'm not," Kathleen stated and they both laughed.

"Neverland was a wonderful island full of adventures," Rosie started her story. "There lived Indians, mermaids, pirates and lost boys. The leader of the lost boys, was Peter Pan. The boy who never grew up. His arch-enemy was James Hook, the captain of the pirate ship which held dock in the bay. Peter and Hook had had many fights, and in one of those fights Peter had cut off Hook's right hand and fed it to the fearsome crocodile _Tick Tock_, who has wanted to eat the rest of the captain ever since. Hook replaced his absent right hand with an iron hook. His eyes have the colour of forget-me-nots, but when he uses his hook to cut you up, his eyes turn red as blood!"

Rosie ended her story with a fearsome look on her face, and one of her fingers on her right hand curved as a hook. Kathleen laughed at the terrible pose Rosie made, and soon Rosie joined in.

"You can't really hold hands with someone who has a hook, can you?" Rosie suddenly asked. Kathleen raised an eyebrow.

"They usually have another hand which doesn't have a hook on it," Kathleen answered slightly confused. "Why do you ask?"

"Mum and dad hold hands," Rosie told with a small smile. Kathleen threw a pillow at Rosie.

"Stop that Rosie, I'm not in love with Hook," Kathleen laughed and caught a pillow which Rosie had thrown at her as a revenge.

Rosie and Kathleen fought a while with their pillows, but soon Rosie yawned. It was getting late.

"Goodnight Katie," Rosie whispered and closed her eyes.

"Goodnight," Kathleen replied and closed her eyes as well.

~*~

_The waves crashed towards the beach and the wind was trying to rip the trees that grew nearby off their roots and into the merciless sea. Kathleen suddenly stood in the middle of the bay with her hair flying wildly around her. Her pyjamas gave her no warmth in the storm, and the rain poured down, making her clothes and hair soaking wet. She was immediately freezing every part of her body, and was wondering how on earth she had gotten to the bay from her daydreams._

_Suddenly she heard sounds from the forest at the edge of the beach._

_"Cut that branch loose, Smee," a deep abundant man's voice called. Kathleen could feel her heart skip a beat. Suddenly a branch loosened from the bushes and a light burst through the opening. Soon the source of the light was revealed to be a lantern, held by a huge man's fist. Soon a group of men came through the opening, led by the huge man with the lantern._

_"Hey! Who goes there?" One of the men shouted as he saw the pale figure in the darkness. Kathleen got scared. These strangers were probably cold-blooded pirates. What would they do to her if they caught her?_

_Kathleen decided it would be too dangerous to stay and find out, so she ran. She could hear the pirates behind her shout after her, but she kept running into the forest._

_THUMP_

_Kathleen had run into something. She almost fell to her knees, but someone grabbed her arms before she fell._

_"Who are you?" A familiar voice asked. Kathleen's eyes widened as she saw the Captain. The man she had heard so many stories about._

_His black hair was long and curly, and he had a goatee. His whole presence emitted authority, and his expression showed all of his maturity and experience. Then Kathleen saw his eyes, and was spellbound. His eyes, as blue as forget-me-nots, were gazing at her with a questioning look._

_"I am Kathleen," Kathleen spoke, with her voice slightly shaking. "Kathleen Westchester"_

_"Well Kathleen, first of all, your clothes are rather transparent," Hook said, no emotions shown in either his voice or expression. Kathleen gasped and tried to cover herself. Her white pyjamas really were transparent. She blushed and felt the embarrassment pour over her like an even colder shower than the one the storm gave her._

_"Here," Hook said and pulled of his coat. He laid it over her shoulders, and Kathleen quickly put it on._

_"Come with me," Hook said and gestured her to walk into the direction she was running from. "I bet you wish to get out of the cold and the rain"_

_Kathleen did not dare to refuse, especially not after the friendly gesture Hook had shown her by giving her his coat. A gesture, she believed, he had seldom showed anyone else. If ever._

_They walked in silence, Hook walking closely behind her._

_After a little while they came back to the bay. Two pirates were holding a row boat as close as possible to the shore. They looked surprised at Kathleen, but apparently did not dare to ask of her origin while Hook was around._

_Hook helped her aboard the boat, and seated himself beside her. The boat was floating very unstable on the stormy sea, and the pirates fought a hard battle against the waves while they seated themselves into the boat and started rowing towards a ship in the distance._

_Kathleen tried to keep a slight distance to the captain, but with the waves crushing around her, and the small space there was in the boat, she found it impossible. She was pressed against his left arm, which she found to be muscular. He was wearing a white shirt, which had gotten soaking wet in the rain. She felt her heart beat faster as she looked up at him. His hair was wet as well, and there were raindrops in his goatee._

_Finally they reached the ship, and Kathleen had finally something slightly more firm under her feet. The pirates looked at Kathleen like she was a rare jewel or an even bigger treasure. She felt uneasy between all of the big pirates. She could barely see anything in the dark, and the storm was not helpful to her nerves._

_Hook led her into the safety of his warm and bright quarters. As he closed the door behind her, she felt herself confined in a safe haven._

_"You should get out of your wet clothes," Hook said and went to his desk. He seated himself on the chair behind the desk before he looked up at Kathleen. "There are dry clothes in the cabinet beside the bed"_

_Kathleen hesitated for a while._

_"Well hurry up, you'll just get yourself a cold standing there in those wet clothes," Hook hurried her and gestured impatiently towards the cabinet. Kathleen quickly walked to the cabin and opened it. The cabin was filled with Hook's clothes. Kathleen quickly looked back to see if the captain was looking, but he was busy writing something with an old fashioned feather quill._

_Kathleen carefully tried to hide herself behind the four-poster bed, even though it would not give her much shelter from the captain's gaze if he would look up from his work. She carefully took off the captain's coat and placed it onto the bed, then silently trying to pull off her wet pyjamas._

_The captain was scribbling in his logbook about this unusual find of his. Never had he thought a girl like Kathleen Westchester would appear in Neverland. One could no longer call her a child, but she was perhaps not completely a woman yet._

_Normally Hook would do no such thing, but the temptation was too big, so he shortly lifted his gaze towards her. She had her back turned to him, and shyly tried to hide behind his four-poster bed. She was thin, but her figure had curves to it. She would turn into a beautiful woman some day. A small smile crept to his lips. Then he looked back into his writing._

_Katie hurried to take one of the captain's white shirts. She had kept her underpants on, even though they were cold and wet. She was too shy to stand completely naked in the captain's bedroom. She could not find a pair of pants even nearly fitting her, so she just tried to pull the huge shirt as far down as possible. She managed to hide her body quite well._

_"Oh, done already?" Hook said with a voice dripping with slightly amused sarcasm. Kathleen did not respond._

_"Take a seat Kathleen," he said and gestured towards a comfortable looking armchair by one of the huge windows. It was a small set of two armchairs and a small table between. On the table there was a bottle of red wine and two wine-glasses. Kathleen was starting to suspect the captain knew she was coming._

_Kathleen sat on one of the armchairs, shyly trying to hide her thighs with the shirt. She thought her thighs to be thick and ugly. Her body had changed so much in the last few years, but she was not sure if she liked the changes. Her mother told her that she should be proud of her figures, her womanhood._

_The captain took his time to finish his entry in his logbook, before he seated himself in the other armchair._

_"Where are you from Kathleen?" he asked casually while he poured wine into the glasses._

_"From London," Kathleen answered shortly._

_"And how did you get here?" he asked as he inspected the writing on the bottle, nodding pleased as he seemed to recognise the wine to be good._

_"… I – I don't know," Kathleen said, beginning to wonder herself how on earth she had gotten here. Hook was about to give her one of the glasses, now filled with red wine, but then he stopped and raised one of his eyebrows._

_"I assume you are not old enough to drink?" He said. Kathleen hesitated. She was only sixteen, but had always wanted to taste wine._

_"Assume whatever you want," sounded her answer, rather bluntly. Hook shrugged and put the glass in front of her._

_"Never been the one to follow the rules," he told her as he smiled slyly. Kathleen looked at the glass of wine, before she lifted it up and took a sip, all under the watchful gaze of the cunning pirate captain._

_The wine tasted bitter and Kathleen was not used to the taste. She quickly swallowed and put the glass on the table again, not intending on drinking more. She shortly looked at the captain who was smiling cunningly. He was watching her wine-glass with a thoughtful look._

_"How do you think you will get home?" Hook asked without removing his gaze from her wineglass. Kathleen fell silent. She had no idea._

_"I thought as much," Hook said after a while of silence. Then he rose and walked to his desk which he leaned himself at, while looking thoughtful._

_Kathleen beheld the captain. His looks were rather dashing. She was afraid she would blush if she kept watching, so she looked away. She felt so shy in his company. She did not understand why. She was usually quite the opposite of shy._

_"It is getting late. Perhaps we should sleep overnight and look at the matter with a clear mind tomorrow morning," Hook said. Kathleen nodded._

_"Unfortunately the guest quarters are slightly... well... they have been uninhabited for a couple of decades. But you can have my bed for tonight. I shall sleep in my armchair. Like I usually do," Hook told. He acted like a gentleman, which impressed Kathleen. She looked at his bed, slightly hesitating, and thinking about refusing, but on the other hand, she had felt out of character all night. Perhaps it was about time to act like she used to._

_She rose from the armchair and seated herself on the bed. The bed was unusually soft. Probably made of all kind of expensive materials._

_She lied down on the bed and hugged the soft bedding. She closed her eyes and fell asleep almost immediately. The last thing she heard before the land of dreams was the soft chuckle of the pirate captain._


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Wake up Katie honey," Kathleen heard her mother's voice say. She opened her eyes, and was looking into the fragile face which belonged to her mother. "Hurry up, you have to go to school,"

_School?_ Katie thought surprised. Then she sat up and looked around. She was back in her room. Had it all been a dream?

"Is that a new shirt? Looks... pirate-y," her mother told with a smile and walked out of the children's room. Kathleen looked at her shirt with a shock. It was the captain's shirt! It had not been a dream.

"Whoa," she heard Rosie gasp. "That's Hook's shirt! Where did you get that? Were you in Neverland? Did you see Peter?"

The questions rained upon Kathleen, who could not answer one of them. She was too flabbergasted from the fact that she was still wearing the captain's shirt.

A mere hour later Kathleen found herself sitting in her class room. She was staring at the blackboard, trying to figure out the mystery of the shirt.

She was in her last year of the school, and her grades were terrific, but she was kind of lonely. She had not any real friends. She used to have a lot of friends, but lately she thought everybody to be immature.

Everyone was laughing and talking around her, but she could barely hear them. She was too lost in thought. Therefore she did not hear the teacher enter the room and everyone stand up and go silent. She did not hear the teacher call her name. She did not hear him shout. Only when he slapped his hand onto her desk and made the whole class cower did she look up.

"Oh, sorry sir," she apologized and rose up. "I was thinking"

"Think at your own time! Get out!" the teacher shouted and pointed at the door. Some gasped, some laughed. Kathleen had never been sent out the door. Well actually she had, but only once. And only because some of the boys from the class were talking bad about Rosie, so she had kicked them in the groins in the middle of a class.

Kathleen seated herself outside the classroom by the wall. She hugged her knees and closed her eyes. She tried to dream herself away from the cruel world they called reality. Finally it succeeded and she fell asleep.

~*~

_She slowly opened her eyes and recognized the captain's elegant quarters. The captain was sitting by his desk, once again writing in his logbook. Kathleen rose and took a few steps away from the wall where she had awoken. The captain lifted his gaze and looked surprised at her._

_"I had not waited you before nightfall," he told her and stood up. He looked at her, then he raised an eyebrow with a smirk. "Are you snoozing off in school?"_

_Kathleen frowned._

_"I was sent outside the door. Because of you," she snapped and looked away. The captain let out a small chuckle and walked towards her._

_"Now tell me young miss Westchester, how could _I_ be the reason for _you_ to get sent outside the door?" he asked with a small sly smile and looked her in the eyes. Kathleen blushed. Not because she had thought of anything improper, but he was looking her deep in the eye, like if he could read her mind._

_"Last night I fell asleep in my own bed in my own room," Kathleen started, quickly gathering courage. "But soon I woke up, in a strange place I have never been before. I get helped by a complete stranger, who is a pirate captain, and when I fall asleep in this place, I have _your_ shirt on, which I am still wearing as I wake up in my own room. Is that not enough to make everyone's mind wander?" She asked with a slightly snarky expression._

_Suddenly the captain's eyes lit up._

_"You were wearing my shirt as you woke up?" He asked her. She nodded._

_"That is fantastic!" He whispered, almost lost of words._

_"Why is that?" Kathleen asked with a raised brow. Hook smiled to her._

_"Nothing you have to worry about," He said as he led her back to the bed._

_"Kathleen it is dangerous for you to come with such irregularity," he said._

_"You sound like I actually have a choice," she interrupted as she seated herself on the bed, with the captain standing in front of her. He had his arms on the bed on the each side of her to hold himself up, as he bowed down to her level._

_"You always have a choice, but I believe that your choice-" he gently brushed her cheek with his fingers. "-led you to me,"_

_Kathleen blushed, and tried to look away, but she could not really escape the blue eyes of the pirate captain from Wendy's and Rosie's stories._

_"Now you should hurry back," Hook said and Kathleen lied down. He kneeled before the bed and looked at the young woman lying in it. She was looking at him as well._

_  
"Good luck Kathleen," He said, and she slowly fell asleep._

~*~

The young woman disappeared.

Hook smiled and stood up. She was truly one of a kind.

He went back to his logbook and wrote about Kathleen's sudden appearance.

He could recall the first time he had ever seen her. She had probably not been more than 11 years old. To begin with he believed her to be another of Peter's story tellers, but the rumours told different. No one even knew what he was talking about. He would often see her at sunset, standing in the bay, watching the ship. For five years she would come and go, without anyone noticing her, beside himself.

Now she must have been around 16, well on her way to become a young woman. Hook had ordered his men to search the forest. He had heard the Lost Boys were having a camp somewhere nearby. It seemed that the information had been wrong, so he had given up, but as he and his men were returning to the ship, he saw a white figure on the beach. He knew immediately who it was, so he hurried to follow her as she ran away.

Kathleen Westchester. A name he would treasure forever.

She had been destined to be his rescue off this island. He was sure of that.

She had already proved that she was able to take him away. She had worn his shirt as she fell asleep in Neverland, and still wore it as she woke up in London.

_Perhaps I should have asked her to wear it tonight_, Hook thought. Then he moved those thoughts away from his head. He had not had the pleasure of the company of a woman for a long time. Even though he had enormous amounts of self-control, he was still a man. A slightly lonely man.

_She's too young_, a part of him said.

_But what do I care?_ Another part asked.

_What if she rejects you?_ The first part asked.

_Then I'll force her_, the second part growled.

_You know you can not do that_, the first part reasoned.

_Of course I can_, the second part snapped.

Hook knew the second part was unfortunately wrong. He sighed and put the quill down. He looked forward to nightfall. Kathleen might return.

_~*~_

Kathleen stood in front of her father's study with a note from the teacher in her hand. She had been yelled at, and her fingers were sore from the ruler the teacher had smacked over them. Her mother was a gentle being and was very proud of her daughter, but her father was another matter.

"Come in," she heard her father's muffled voice call through the door. She took a deep breath to gather all the courage she could master, before she entered the study.

"Ah Kathleen. What do you want?" Her father was sitting behind his desk, and looked up from his paperwork. Kathleen sighed and laid the note on his table. He read it, and shook his head.

"I thought I had raised you properly," his father said with a slightly strained expression as he signed the note and gave it back to Kathleen. He did not look at her. "Apparently not. I hope you will learn to avoid these regretful situations from now on. Goodbye Kathleen,"

Kathleen went to her room. She did not feel any regret. She was just angry. How dare he speak to her like that? What gave him the right to tell her how she was supposed to act?

"Kathleen dear," her mother said while entering the room, startling Kathleen. "Supper is ready, honey,"

"I'm not hungry," Kathleen replied bluntly. Her mother hesitated a while.

"… Well … we'll leave some for you. Then you can get yourself some if you get hungry later," her mother said and left the room, closing the door behind her. Kathleen was alone.

She threw herself on the bed. The world was unfair. She felt the tears wishing to burst through, and after a small battle with herself, she let them.

Kathleen let her tears fall for a while, but she soon stopped. There was no reason to cry.

She found the captain's shirt under the sheets where she had hidden it. She changed her clothes, and soon she was wearing it instead of her school uniform.

She looked at herself. It seemed so right for her to wear it. The school uniform had never seemed to fit her properly, no matter how often she tried to re-sow it.

The clock down in the living room sounded eight times. It would be time for bed in about an hour. Kathleen could not wait. She lied down in her bed and hoped sleep would take over.

~*~

_"Kathleen," a familiar voice called softly._

_Kathleen opened her eyes and looked into the undefinable eyes with the colour of forget-me-nots which belonged to the captain. He was kneeling before the bed, with a small smile on his lips._

_"I wondered when I would get to see my shirt again," he said. "But I believe I will not get it back again just yet?"_

_"Could I keep it?" Kathleen asked. Hook chuckled._

_"Well if you want it, then I guess I can not stop you," he answered._

_A short silence followed._

_"Kathleen, I have something I have to ask of you," Hook said seriously, but still trying to keep a tiny smile. Kathleen looked slightly curious._

_The captain seemed to hesitate for a moment._

_"Perhaps it is to soon..." he said. Kathleen sat up in the bed._

_"No. Please," Kathleen begged. "Just tell me,"_

_Hook smiled slyly, but then he shook his head._

_"It _is_ too soon," he said silently. Then he rose and walked towards his desk, leaving Kathleen behind, sitting on his bed, wondering._

_Hook seated himself by his desk and starting writing. Kathleen frowned. She rose from the bed and strode towards him. She stood beside him, trying to read what he was writing. Hook sighed and closed the logbook, looking at her with a slightly amused look._

_"You are a curious one, aren't you?" He said. Kathleen shrugged._

_"Go over there... shoo," he said and waved towards the other part of his cabin, whereafter he opened his logbook and started scribbling in it once again. Kathleen did not move._

_"I bet she isn't able to read my old fashioned hand writing anyhow," he mumbled._

_A short silence followed. Hook felt his gaze wander slightly towards Kathleen's naked feet, but would quickly withdraw back to his work._

_"I believe none of us are going to enjoy ourselves if you keep standing beside me as I work. It is not all that interesting," Hook sighed and looked up towards Kathleen. She was smiling slyly. He raised one of his eyebrows._

_"What do you want?" he asked slightly annoyed._

_"Perhaps you could explain why I'm here?" She asked. Hook sighed. He would not get any work done anyway if she would stand beside him all the time._

_"I can try to explain a couple of theories, but I believe I am unable to come up with an answer," he explained._

_"Please do try to explain," she begged. Hook sighed once more. He rose from his desk and walked to the armchairs. He gestured her to take a seat, and she did so._

_"I have a rather good picture of _How_ and_ When_ you get here, but I am still rather blank on the _Why_," he told her with a serious expression._

_"I believe you have a strong will, like Peter himself, and that you are able to escape from the reality to a place where you feel to be at peace, apparently here. You apparently seem to have a mind which is able to travel between two realities, but it seems to be stuck inside a body which can only be one place at a time, which is the reason you only can come here when your mind truly wanders far enough, for example in your sleep"_

_"But why?"_

_"I have no idea... you apparently have a craving to be here, but I cannot on any plan of reality see why. This place is nothing but madness created by the childish mind of Peter Pan!"_

_A short silence followed. Both Hook and Kathleen looked thoughtful, but suddenly Hook looked at Kathleen with an intense gaze._

_"I saw you the first time five years ago," he started. "You stood on the beach, but as I looked again, you were gone. I am the only one who has seen you standing on that beach..."_

_Kathleen looked at the captain who suddenly got a slight smirk on his lips._

_"Perhaps you do not crave for Neverland itself... perhaps you crave for someone special...?" Hook realized. He looked at Kathleen, who seemed to be even more surprised than him. "But... who, I wonder,"_

_Kathleen nervously bit her lip. She had an idea of who. Rosie would often tease her with being in love with Hook, but it just could not be true. He was from Neverland, and she was from London. And he was probably hundreds of years old. She was only sixteen, almost seventeen._

_Hook had seen the nervous expression in her eyes and he knew it was true. Kathleen Westchester was in love with him. A strange thing indeed. This love. He had never understood its meaning._

_Perhaps he could use it to his advantage some day._

_"Kathleen," he started with a sly smile on his lips. "This person, it might be me. Am I right?"_

_Kathleen looked away from the captain's eyes. She did not dare tell him the truth. Or at least what she thought might be the truth. She was still unsure herself._

_A rather long silence followed._

_Kathleen did not dare to gaze into the captain's eyes, afraid he might be looking into hers. If their eyes had met she was sure she would blurt out any thoughts she might have had about the man. She was unsure of what the said thoughts really meant - If she truly was in love with him – or not._

_To her Love was a very strong word. No doubt there was an infatuation for the pirate captain, but true love?_

_"Kathleen, look at me," the captain demanded calmly. Kathleen wanted to disobey, but something far stronger inside her told her not to. She looked into the captain's eyes. The deep blue eyes which seemed to gaze into her very heart and soul and reveal any secret that might lie within._

_Kathleen was completely lost in his eyes._

_'It is improper,' Kathleen thought, even though not truly believing herself. There were eight years between her mother and her father, her mother being the youngest. They had married when her mother was 18, and it had been a wonderful wedding, worthy of envy from the rest of the upper middle class, which her parents belonged to._

_Even though the captain was probably many hundreds of years old, he looked like a man in his thirties. About twice her age. It was not unheard of._

_"Kathleen Westchester," He started. His voice sounded even more calm and gentle than usually._

_"No matter what the reason is for you coming here, I am glad you do. I have been trapped on this godforsaken island for hundreds of years. I have tried to kill that blasted Peter Pan for as long as I have been here, but he is undefeatable in this world of his. But no matter what I do, I cannot leave, and I cannot defeat him. Even if I died trying, I would always be brought back by him. His subconsciousness craves for an arch-enemy, or else his life might get boring. I have already tried that once," Hook told her._

_"But you have proved that you have the ability to take me away from Neverland," Hook almost laughing with joy as he said this. Kathleen looked slightly confused._

_"My shirt," he said with a sly smile. "You could bring it with you from Neverland to London. If my theory has hold to it, you should be able to bring a person as well"_

_Kathleen eyes widened. If there truly was hold to the theory, she would have to fall asleep with the captain close to her. And then she would wake up in her own bed in her and Rosie's room, with the captain. What would her parents and sister not say if she was sleeping in the same bed with a complete stranger. And the stranger was not only a man twice her age, but also a man dressed as a pirate. It would ruin her family if rumours about such things would start to circle._

_"I cannot do it. I'm sorry, but I simply cannot. It would ruin my family if I was found in the same bed with a complete stranger," Kathleen told with her voice high-pitched. The captain seemed slightly disappointed, but it also seemed as he had been expecting this reaction._

_"I should have known it was too soon," the captain said with a smile._

_"Well now you know my intentions. But it was not my plan to leave tonight. I still have preparations to make, for I have big plans I wish to accomplish as I would finally get off of this bloody island. I am not asking you for favours, or forcing you to do anything. It is your decision alone if you wish to accept what I offer you, in exchange of you taking me back when the time is suitable for both of us," the captain explained. His expression looked rather calm, but there was a sly smile embedded in his lips._

_Kathleen thought about it._

_"I do have to know all the terms of this 'deal' before I will make any considerations of accepting it," she replied. She wanted all the cards on the table from the beginning._

_Suddenly Kathleen felt a yawn coming on. She had not slept for a while, as she had spent her time with the captain._

_"Oh of course, my dear. You shall have all the facts you want, but not tonight. You must rest now, so that you can read all of the terms with a clear mind," Hook answered gently and rose from the chair, then turning around and reaching his hand towards Kathleen._

_She hesitated, as she would rather have had the facts now, but she had to admit she was getting tired. She took the captain's hand, and he gracefully helped her up from the armchair, and walked with her to his bed._

_"Kathleen," Hook started. She looked up at him after seating herself on the bed._

_"Yes?" she asked. Hook gestured her to lie down, and after she did so, he started calmly pulling the thick and soft duvet over her._

_"However flattered I might be by whatever feelings you might have for me, I do have to require you to understand, that I wish to keep our relationship as professional as possible," the captain explained._

_Kathleen felt relieved, although she also felt a small sadness in her._

_She closed her eyes, and slowly drifted asleep._

_"For now, at least"_


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Kathleen sat in class and was writing math in her notebook. Her mind on the other hand was as far away from math as possible.

Her mind wandered around the happenings of the night before. The night where she sat in front of the captain and looked into his amazing blue eyes. The night he had told her about his plan, and told her he wished to keep things as professional as possible with her. For now. Or had he really said that? Or was it just a dream. She had almost drifted to sleep by the time, so the last part might just have been something she had imagined.

Unfortunately it was also the night she found out she truly did travel to Neverland. Her body disappeared from her own bed in London if she was in the captain's quarters in Neverland.

When Rosie came up to bed, she could not find Kathleen anywhere. Rosie luckily had a wonderful imagination, and was sure Kathleen was in Neverland, and therefore covered for her older sister, whose disappearance was, thanks to Rosie, not discovered by their parents.

Kathleen promised herself to do something really nice for Rosie the next time she got the chance.

Finally the bell rang and the boring school day had ended.

She went to Rosie's class where she was sitting on the hallway, waiting for her. She seemed sad.

"Is something wrong Rosie?" Kathleen asked worried and sat beside her younger sister.

"It's nothing," she mumbled and stood up. Kathleen followed, and as they walked towards home together, she could not get another word out of Rosie.

Kathleen was worried. This was not like Rosie. Usually she was so happy and feisty. Nothing seemed to be able to get her down. Apparently something had gotten her down. Kathleen was dying to find out what it was. She wished to help her sister.

At supper she barely touched her food. Their mother noticed this, but their father wished a strict discipline around the dinner table, so they were not allowed to talk if it was nothing for the family to be proud of. Like good grades, great new business partners and so on. _Useless chit-chatter,_ as their father called it, was not allowed by the table.

"Rosie, is something wrong, dearest?" Mrs Westchester asked silently as she was putting Rosie to bed.

Kathleen sat by the mirror and was combing her hair. She looked at her mother and her younger sister in the mirror, while slowing down with the comb a little.

"It's nothing," Rosie replied, like she had done to Kathleen earlier that day.

"I can see that there is something wrong. I am your mother. You can tell me anything," Mrs Westchester tried to convince her younger daughter. Without luck unfortunately. Rosie's mouth stayed shut, even though she smiled a little.

Mrs Westchester still looked a little worried, but she finally left the room, turning off the lights as she went.

Kathleen put the comb back on the table and pulled her shoulder-length brown hair up into a ponytail. Then she walked to Rosie's bed and sat beside her.

"Rosie. There's nobody here. Now tell me what's wrong," Kathleen said firmly. She was not about to let her sister be miserable. Rosie hesitated, but finally she sighed.

"I am tired of London. There are no adventures and no happy things here," she explained. "I want to go to Neverland like you do"

There was a small tear on her cheek. She really wanted to go to Neverland.

Kathleen thought about it. Perhaps she could prove the captain's theory by taking her sister to and from Neverland with her. It would not create any gossiping hassle, but on the other hand it might be risky. She could not be sure she was able to take another human with her to Neverland. It might be dangerous. She could not risk her own sister.

"I'm sorry Rosie, but it might be dangerous for you if I tried to take you along," Kathleen explained. Rosie's reaction to this was unexpected. Her eyes widened and she sat up in the bed with her eyes shining brightly.

"You can take others with you to Neverland?" she asked her voice going all high-pitched. Kathleen shushed her. Their parents were not allowed to hear.

"Didn't you know?" Kathleen whispered confused. She thought Rosie had figured it out, since she suddenly wanted to go to Neverland this badly. Rosie shook her head, but her smile still reached from ear to ear.

"Please take me with you, please pretty please," Rosie begged. She took Kathleen's hands and looked begging into her eyes. Kathleen swore under her breath for not having realized that Rosie had not known about her ability. She knew she had already lost the battle. Rosie would never give up until Kathleen would take her to Neverland.

"Fine," Kathleen sighed. Rosie was about to shout out in glee, but she got shushed by Kathleen before she started.

"But not tonight," Kathleen said. "I have to make some things ready first"

This did not take Rosie down, she threw her arms around Kathleen and hugged her tightly.

"You are the best sister ever!" She said. Kathleen could not help but giggle a little. Rosie was almost too easy to please.

A moment later Kathleen laid in her bed, more tired than ever, but unable to fall asleep. She was thinking too hard. She could not be in the captain's bed when she would take Rosie with her, that was for sure. But should she tell the captain what she was planning? She was afraid of what his reaction might be. Kathleen was attracted to the pirates, while Rosie's biggest wish was to meet Peter. Perhaps the captain would get mad.

Finally Kathleen closed her eyes and drifted away into a dark dream.

_"Kathleen," a familiar voice called out. "Kathleen wake up"_

_Kathleen mumbled a little in her sleep, but her eyes stayed shut._

_"Kathleen, dearest, please wake up," there was a hint of concern in the voice._

_Suddenly Kathleen woke up with a scream. She jumped up, and was grabbed by a pair of strong arms. The captain held her close and tried to calm her down._

_"Calm down, Kathleen. Nothing but a bad dream," the captain soothed her. Finally she started to realise she was in the captain's quarters again._

_"I-I was t-trapped inside a clock," Kathleen stuttered, trying to shake off the dream she had feared so much. "The ticking was so loud, I felt like my head was going to burst, and suddenly-"_

_"-A crocodile appeared and swallowed you whole," the captain broke in. Kathleen looked surprised at him._

_"Kathleen, what you saw is one of my dreams," the captain explained. Kathleen was about to ask why she had dreamt the same dream as him, but then she saw that he was only wearing a pair of underpants, and was partly covered by the duvet. She blushed. He had been sleeping._

_"I did not expect you to come tonight. I thought you would rest, so I took the formality of sleeping in my own bed for once," he told with a slight sly smile on his face. She nodded and looked away. She did not dare to stare at his muscular and scarred body, even though she secretly wanted. She was curious._

_Everything about the captain seemed so mysterious, but when she saw him like this, with almost no clothes, exposing the bare skin, he seemed completely human._

_Even though being in Neverland felt just as real as when she was in London, she was still afraid it was all just a dream, although it had often been proven otherwise._

_"Well since you are here," the captain interrupted her busy thinking mind. "Is there something you want from me?"_

_Kathleen thought about it for a while. Should she tell him about what she promised Rosie? That would probably be the best. Otherwise she would have to hide things from him, and that would only complicate things terribly. Those kind of things always went bad at some point, so Kathleen took a deep breath as to enhance her courage, before she started explaining._

_"I have a little sister back in London – Rosie – and her greatest wish is to come to Neverland and visit Peter. I accidentally told her I might be able to take her with me - but I though she already knew! She made me promise to take her with me some day. She can be so terribly stubborn, and I was too tired to fight with her about it," she said, anxiously awaiting the captain's response. The captain stood up and lit the candle on the bedside table, which created a dim light which lit the room up slightly more than the moonlight through the windows, that had cast a slight silvery light in the room._

_"She wants to visit Peter?" Hook asked with a sly look in his eyes. Kathleen nodded. She was not sure she liked this reaction._

_"This could be perfect," Hook expressed. "I could make her my spy. She could lead me to Peter and I could finally get my revenge,"_

_Kathleen sighed and rolled her eyes._

_"We saw how well that went last time, back when Wendy was here," she said sarcastic._

_Hook raised an eyebrow. Then he scowled. He knew she was right._

_"The main point is, that I cannot show her I am in you quarters every time I am here," Kathleen explained._

_"Why not? Aren't all grown ups pirates in Peter's eyes? Why should she not see the place you truly belong to?" he asked with a smirk._

_"You think I'm a grown up?" Kathleen asked surprised._

_"Of course. Well almost, at least. You just need a couple of years and some more experience and then you are definitely a grown up," while explaining the captain started coming closer to Kathleen who was sitting on the bedside._

_"You have already experienced some of the things that are usually reserved for adults," Hook said. There was a small smirk on his lips. Kathleen looked up at him, with a strange feeling building up inside her as he came closer._

_"You have tried alcohol. A little, at least," Hook said and laughed a little. He was a mere foot away from Kathleen and still coming closer._

_"You are almost done with school. You are probably already starting to get into the society," Hook's voice sounded sober, but his eyes were filled with a strange emotion, and he was still smirking._

_"And you are in love," the captain kneeled down as he said this and looked deep into Kathleen's eyes. A strange burst of warmth travelled through Kathleen's stomach to her fingertips and down to her toes. She could not stop herself before she had lifted her fingers and slowly caressed the captain's cheek._

_He smiled with a knowing smirk. He was completely aware of all of her feelings._

_"You should sleep now," he said and stood up._

_"But what about Rosie?" Kathleen asked. Hook looked into her eyes and helped her lie down._

_"Don't worry my dearest, I will take care of everything. Come alone tomorrow, and I will have found a place for you where you can safely take Rosie," he explained and covered Kathleen with the duvet._

_Kathleen closed her eyes and smiled. She loved the smell and feel of the soft duvet, as well as the bed. She felt herself in a safe sanctuary._


End file.
